


Human Library

by fforteventura



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: AU? sort of? Kara is still a super, But its not supergirl centric? more like plain Kara, F/F, Library, Pining, and lena in love, library dates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-23 16:17:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10722822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fforteventura/pseuds/fforteventura
Summary: Lena Luthor stumbles upon a "Human Library." She never knew you could checkout people in more ways than one.





	Human Library

**Author's Note:**

> I got this idea from a "psycho fact" tumblr post that said humans can be checked out as books in some places. This: http://psychofactz.net/post/159970340772
> 
> I apologize for any mistakes and hope you like it! :)

Lena Luthor was a well-known business woman. She was the most prominent scientist of her era and an amazing conversationalist. Lena had earned numerous awards, including the Noble Prize in two fields: chemistry and physics. Luthor was known for her amazing findings which she didn’t use for profit, she merely wanted to make the world a better place and at the age of twenty-five, she was already placed in the top ten scientists of all times. 

In short, she was a prodigy who strived for peace and better lives for everyone around her. It wasn’t a secret that she spent a lot of time in her labs, always looking for new ways to make more sustainable energy. However, hardly anyone knew that she loved reading during her leisure time, which didn’t happen often by the way. 

Lena Luthor particularly loved romance novels, thrillers, historical fiction, and sci-fi. Even though she had a vast and private library at her home, Lena often found herself at the public library. She browsed through her favorite sections and didn’t find any books that appealed to her, strangely so. 

She was about to leave the library and just hit a bookstore, when she glanced to her left and found a room labeled, “human library.” 

She was naturally a curious being and seeing people go in and out every few minutes, just made her go in. The room was bigger than it actually looked and it was surrounded with frames that seemed to have writing on them instead of pictures. 

The young scientist saw a lady sitting by the desk, and decided to approach her. “Hi.” Lena said timidly. “Hello, my name is Lindsay, how can I help you, miss?” the lady asked with a smile. “Hello, ma’am, I—uh seem to be a very curious person and I was, for the lack of a better word, snooping around. I thought this was a space open to the public, so I came in to check it out.” Lena explained. 

“Oh it is, darling! This is a different way to check out books. See those frames around the walls?” Lindsay asked as she pointed towards a wall. Lena nodded in agreement before the lady continued, “they are synopsis of human books. They are people who have certain stories to tell and sometimes they’ll change it every week.”

“And how do you “check them out”?” Lena asked with air quotes. 

“they meet you at a coffee shop or here for two hours whenever you both find it convenient. These people love to tell their stories and they so kindly donate their time. They claim it gives them a sense of purpose.” Lindsay explained with a smile. “interesting.” Lena said with an eyebrow raised. 

“interesting indeed.” 

“Can I look around?” Lena asked. 

“Yes, but you will need a special kind of library card. We need the extra information for security purposes.” The lady said. Lena quickly agreed and took the clipboard that had been offered to her. She filled out the application in a few minutes and handed it back to Lindsay. “You’re good to go, dear! Look around and hopefully something will interest you.” Lindsay told her with an encouraging smile. “And how do I meet with them?” The CEO asked. 

“When you come back, we set up a time. I have a pretty good schedule.” The librarian said. Lena smiled at the woman decided to look around for a bit. 

Some stories seemed fun, but a particular story of a girl who lost her family and was adopted but always felt like an alien caught her eye. She loved it when she could relate to a book. 

Lena took the name of the book and author to the front desk and Lindsay quickly got her agenda out. “Kara Danvers, I see. She’s such a ray of sunshine and her stories always attract the readers—or the listeners in this case. Good choice, Ms. Luthor.” Lindsay offered with a wink. 

“Kara is free tomorrow at five. Does that work for you?” Lindsay asked. Lena thought about it for a second. She had a meeting with veteran investors, but she could ask Jess to move it to another day. “Yes, tomorrow is fine.” Lena answered. 

“I will give her a call, hold on just a second.” Lindsay said. “Hello, Kara, Dear. Good how about yourself? Yes, actually. She wants to meet tomorrow. okay, thank you sweetheart.” Lindsay spoke on the phone as Lena heard the one-sided conversation. 

“she is free tomorrow and looking forward to meeting you!” The lady explained. 

“that’s fantastic! I’ll be back tomorrow, then.” Lena said with a smile. 

“See you tomorrow dear! Oh, and by the way, you guys meet in the study rooms. She has blonde hair, glasses, and will be wearing a blue sweater.” Lindsay explained before Lena could exit the room. Lena nodded and waved one last time before making her way out of the library. 

She felt nervous. It wasn’t that she wasn’t good at meeting people, but it kind of felt like a blind date. She didn’t want to impress the girl, but didn’t want to look like a slob either. 

At four o’clock, Lena left her office after asking Jess to reschedule meetings. She went home and changed into simple jeans, a burgundy flannel, and her trusty chucks. Lena made sure to stop by the coffee shop on the way to the library to get herself and this Kara girl a coffee and a few snacks. 

She walked into the library a few minutes before five and quickly made her way to the study rooms. Most of them were empty aside from some of them which had several college students trying to get through midterms. Lena briefly wondered if she should go for her doctorate, but quickly dismissed the thought as she found the study room she was looking for. 

There was a woman sitting down facing the door. She could see her blue sweater and glasses, so she gently knocked on the door. The blonde, Kara, looked up from her phone and Lena was immediately smitten by her. She had gorgeous blonde hair cascading over her shoulders and beautiful blue eyes. Kara’s face broke into a big smile and Lena smiled back. 

Kara quickly opened the door for Lena and invited her in. “Hey, Lena! I’m Kara Danvers.” 

“I know.” Lena said dumbly. “I’m Lena Luthor.” She added nervously. 

“Lena Luthor?” Kara asked in surprise. “that would be me!” Lena said with a nervous smile. “oh my god, Alex will not believe this! She goes on and on about your latest gadgets. She says that your company could solve problems like global warming and destruction of natural resources.” The blonde gushed with a smile. “I’m just trying to help.” Lena said bashfully. “She will not believe it.” Kara said with a smile and Lena tried to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach. 

“I brought you a coffee and some pastries.” Lena offered after a few seconds of silence. 

“oh my god you’re amazing! Thank you” Kara said with a grateful smile. “Should we start?” she added before taking a sip of her coffee. “definitely.” Lena said with a smile. 

Kara started her story when she was merely twelve years old. She had lost her family in a boating accident. Kara had been in the shore with his cousin’s family, so she was the only one who survived. She told her story in a way that made Lena picture everything. She talked about the seagulls that could be heard in the distance and the sound that the waves made. Kara said she was building a sandcastle when the area had been surrounded by ambulances and helicopters. She didn’t know it yet, but she had a sinking feeling in her gut which told her something was wrong. It even brought Lena to tears. 

She talked about how she was in the foster care system for a year before she was placed with the Danvers. She was always welcomed by Jeremiah, Eliza, and Alex, her foster sister, but couldn’t quite feel like family. She always felt like they were in their own little bubble, especially since Alex didn’t exactly like her at first. It didn’t matter how much they tried to include Kara.

It wasn’t until a few years later, when she learned to live without her true family, even though she missed them every day, and every waking second of every hour. Jeremiah had passed away a few years prior, and it was the backbone of bringing them closer together. Her relationship with Alex became stronger and now she couldn’t imagine her life without her. Alex found a girl who she deeply fell in love with and was about to get married to. In that time, Kara found another sister in Maggie. 

She went through depression and many other hardships until she found her true calling. She became a reporter and worked at CatCo. She felt as she was making a difference with her reporting skills, by getting the truth out to the people. When she started working at CatCo, she met Winn and James and they were the most amazing friends anyone could ask for. 

Kara ended her story by saying that even though life throws many hardships your way, you must always keep a perseverant state of mind. It may not look like it will ever be okay, but it will be. You just have to be patient. 

“That was such a touching story, Kara.” Lena said through her tears. “please excuse me.” She added as she wiped her eyes lightly with a napkin. 

Kara was confused. No one had ever cried to that story before. “Are you okay, Ms. Luthor?” Kara asked, using Lena’s last name for the first time. “Just Lena.” The CEO said with a sniff. 

“I’m okay, Kara. It’s just that I was also adopted, but I didn’t have much luck. My family adopted me for publicity and as soon as I turned eighteen, I started to make my own life away from them.” She explained. She didn’t usually tell people about her life, especially if she had just met them, but Kara seemed different. She seemed worthy of her trust. “Now that I’ve made a name for myself, they want to reconnect our relationship that wasn’t even there to begin with.” Lena explained. Kara gave her a sad smile and placed her hand over Lena’s on top of the table. 

Lena looked at their hands and Kara was about to retract the hand, but Lena turned her own hand and gave Kara’s a gentle squeeze. They talked for a little while until they realized the library was about to close. “Well, Kara Danvers, was a pleasure to hear your story.” Lena said as she walked along Kara towards the exit. “Thank you for listening, Lena. I’m glad you liked the story.” Kara said with a shy smile. 

“do you need a ride?” Lena asked as she found Santiago, her driver, outside, patiently waiting for her. “No, I flew here—on a bus. I came here on the bus.” Kara said with a nervous smile. “Are you sure?” Lena pressed on. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Besides, my apartment is only a few blocks away.” Kara said. It wasn’t dark outside yet, and there were plenty of people outside, so Lena nodded and got into her car. 

…

Monday rolled around and Lena couldn’t stop thinking about the blonde all weekend. She had a really good evening with her, and she wanted to see her again. Lena left work early and headed to the library once again. She was greeted by Lindsay with a warm smile, which she quickly returned. 

Lena pretended to look around for other books, but ultimately ended up in the synopses by Kara Danvers. She barely even looked at the synopsis for the title she got and made her way to the front desk. Lena truly hoped that she didn’t look so suspicious about getting Kara again as her narrator. “Lena, dear, back for more?” the lady asked with a knowing smile. 

“Yes! I loved the story and I find human books quite… interesting.” Lena said with a simple smile. “Who do you have today?” Lindsay asked. 

“I have a sci-fi. Krypton by Kara Danvers.”

“Kara Danvers.” Lindsay echoed with a knowing smile. Lena felt like a deer caught in headlights. The CEO of the greatest, most powerful company of the world, decided checking out a book of science fiction, though Lena knew there was no way Lindsay wasn’t suspicious of her intentions with Kara. “She’s quite good, ain’t she?” the librarian asked. 

“Yeah, she’s great.” Lena agreed with a dreamy smile. 

“let me call her.” Lindsay offered and turned towards the phone. 

“Hey Kara! Guess what? Yes, I have someone here dying to hear Krypton. It’s the pretty lady from Friday. So soon? Okay let me ask her.” Lena heard Lindsay speak. 

“Dear, Kara wants to know if you would like to meet today?” 

“T-today?” Lena stuttered. She wanted to see the blonde, but she needed some time to prepare herself. “Yes,” Lena replied before she could stop herself. 

“Kara, Lena agreed to meet today. Same time, same spot? Okay, dear. I’ll let her know.” Lindsay spoke on the phone. 

“She said today, same time. Same spot.” Lindsay said even though she knew Lena heard her speaking on the phone. “Thank you, Lindsay. I’ll see you later!” Lena said with a smile before she started to walk away. “Bye, dear. Enjoy your date!” Lindsay exclaimed and Lena basically ran away. It wasn’t a date. 

Except she took some Chinese food instead—because Kara said in her other story that Chinese was her favorite food. 

For the following weeks, Lena visited Kara at the library for a story at least twice a week. Every time they stayed later and later; sometimes they never even got to the story. 

Lena had worked up the courage to ask for Kara’s number after many weeks of listening to the same stories. She loved each and every one of the stories, because it meant she could be with Kara. However, as her feelings grew stronger, Lena could no longer wait. 

 

//

 

Many months later, precisely two years later, Lena found herself lying on Kara’s chest. Her best friend and lover ran her fingers through Lena’s hair and they both enjoyed the silence. “Lena?” Kara said. Lena hummed and buried her face into Kara’s neck. “Can I tell you my latest story?” the blonde asked nervously. “Absolutely, babe. I always love hearing your stories.” 

[Beware: the next part has a lot of script]  
Kara took a deep breath and began. “It all started when I was twenty-four years old. I’ve always known that I love reading, but something about telling a story face to face conveys more than written words. I came up with this thing called “Human Library.” After months of talking to the National City County Library district and a few donations from Cat Grant, Max Lord, and Lucy Lane, the room in the library was built. It took about two years to encourage people to volunteer and tell their own stories.

“I became close friends with a woman called Lindsay and she was the best candidate to run the “Human Library.” Months later, we became closer and closer to the point where she was like an aunt to me. When I came out to her, she self-proclaimed as my wingwoman, because she said, and I quote, “you can’t get a decent date yourself, my dear.” 

“One day I was working at CatCo, trying to write an article on Maxwell Lord when my phone rang. I didn't know it, then, but Lindsay had an appointment for me with someone who would become my whole world. I was nervous and excited all at once. I met one amazing Lena Luthor. Over the weeks, we became closer and then she asked me on a date.” Kara said with a smile and looked at her girlfriend who had already sat up in bed. 

Lena listened to Kara talk about the things that made them come together and her heart soared with happiness. It was one of the cutest stories she had ever heard, but she was so glad that she got to experience everything with Kara. Her girlfriend talked about the ups and downs of the relationship, but how they always stuck together. Kara talked about how hard it was to be without Lena when she had business trips, and how grateful she had been when she barely started out as supergirl and Lena truly supported her. 

“But the story is merely the beginning, and I’m hoping that together, we can add many other parts to it. Lena Luthor, will you marry me?” The young reporter asked nervously. Lena was already crying, and she didn’t know how long it had been. 

“Of course I’ll marry you!” Lena said through her tears and pulled her girlfriend in for a kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading :)


End file.
